It's Tuesday, and Tuesdays are for slicing. Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices!
For the last eleven Aprils, I am struck by how difficult it is to change from slicing every day to slicing every week. Even right now, at this moment, as I am on the keyboard on Tuesday morning with the luxury of time because of vacation, something that I did every day -- every day-- challenges me to get going. Once a day felt so much easier than once a week. I could go on with maybes and possibilities, but I'd love to hear if others experience this phenomenon. Maybe it belies the importance of daily writing workshop... In any case--
Alice, Camila, and I had finished an arm workout, and we were deciding what/IF to do anything else. I was visiting Alice at her home in DC, a visit we'd both looked forward to for a while since I had not been able to come to her husband's memorial service. Her daughter, Camila has been working from home since her knee surgery a few weeks ago. Camila was up for anything since her body was craving exercise, but Alice was iffier.
"I've been trying to take some of the classes in Spanish," I said, and Camila was instantly intrigued. She wanted to know what dialect.
"I can barely keep up with the subtitles and recognize the 3-2-1," I said. "I have no idea."
Camila wanted to know, and we pulled up Camila Ramón on my Peloton classes. (Camila, my friend, LOVED the instructor's name!)
Once the music got going, Alice, who was in the adjoining kitchen, came right back in.
"What is this?" she asked. Alice grew up in Chile, and Spanish is one of several languages she knows. She had no problem pinpointing the country in South America through the instructor's dialect, and she tried to explain the nuances to us.
Alice didn't take another workout class, but she danced and sang along in the adjoining room. Watching her, Camila (my friend) and I had much less trouble pressing through the repetitions, even though it was our second class.
"Now this is good music," she said several times.
Writing and reliving this moment reminds me of the importance of language and music for bridging gaps and creating joy.
I guess it's the same way with us hearing English spoken... we can tell where people are from. Though, even though I studied French for 10 years and lived there in high school, I couldn't tell you the differences in regional accents anymore. I used to know them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, April feels SO different. I have to say, I'm more relaxed now, but I do miss the way I mined my life for stories in the month of March.
I am finding Tuesdays hard too. I never considered taking a class in Spanish- but now I’m curious. I’m glad you were able to get away and spend time with friends!
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